Strong Love That Never Dies

February 4th, 1973. The happiest day for Damián and Catalina. They were finally getting married after one year and a half since they declared their love to each other. Damián and Catalina, or Cati, as she liked to be called, are my parents. Today it is their 41st wedding anniversary. But today it is not a happy day.

My mum died almost seven years ago. She fought bravely against cancer for two years. But that brain tumor was far stronger than her, and she finally left us on April 19th, 2007 (by the way, two days after my birthday). When my mum died, my dad felt lost, and he has been feeling lost since that day. My mother has been his first and only love, and she had been his eyes, his legs, and his arms since the very first time they started dating.

Their love was strong till the end, and they never spent one day away from the other. They were the perfect partner for each other. My mum was positive, happy, friendly and extroverted; my dad, even though he is a good person, doesn’t like being among people that much, being quite introverted and not very sociable. However, his love for his wife was so great that he always made the effort of going with her everywhere. Even if he’d rather stay at home, anytime she said she felt like going out for dinner, he immediately would agree to the plan.

Whatever my mum said was perfect, according to my dad. Even when they discovered they were unable to have children of their own, they didn’t despair. They stayed together and decided to adopt some children. That is how my sister and I got into the family, and for that I am and will always be grateful. Cati was the best mum I could have ever had, and Damián is the best dad ever. They have helped and encouraged us to be anything we wanted to be, and I am sure that wherever she is, my mum is watching me and is very proud of me. Everything I am is because of her, and she will live forever in my heart.

As for my dad… Well, his heart broke in a million pieces when my mum’s heart stopped beating. But we will never forget her last words: “Don’t be sad. Always happy”. For my dad it is as if she is still alive. My dad says Good Morning to my mum’s picture every day, and when he thinks that I am not listening, he even talks to her about his day or something that happened concerning some member of our family, our neighbours, friends… He feels her presence so strongly that I can also feel her. She is here with us because he never let her go; he thinks of her every second, misses her with every centimetre of his skin, longs for her with every breath he takes… It is love that never ends.

So today, on the 41st anniversary of the happiest day in their lives, we don’t feel very happy since she is not here. But then we remember her words and, after all, as long as we don’t forget her, she will always live in our hearts. So today we are smiling too. Smiling for her. And I am sure she is also smiling. Because she loves us. Because we love her. Because it is love that never dies.